Visa agency goes digital

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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services launched the inaugural phase of its new electronic system, called USCIS ELIS on Tuesday in an effort to modernize the process of filing and adjudicating immigration benefits.

“Today marks a significant milestone in our agency’s history,” said director Alejandro Mayorkas. “USCIS ELIS will transform how we interact with our customers and how we manage the 6-7 million applications we receive each year.”

Immigrants can now use the system to establish an account, apply online to extend or change their status for certain visas, and track the progress of their application. Those eligible to use the system include foreign citizens who travel to the U.S. to study, conduct business, receive medical treatment or vacation.

The system also streamlines the process for USCIS officers who will be able to review filings from multiple agency locations. It will eliminate the historical process of paper applications by mail, review of paper applications and shipment of documents between officers for processing.

Several more rollouts will add increased functions and forms.

Eventually the system will include all immigration and citizenship filing functions, according to USCIS.